SXSW canceled amid coronavirus fears

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The city of Austin announced this afternoon SXSW's cancelation. "We are devastated to share this news with you," the annual conference and festival said in a statement. "'The show must go on' is in our DNA, and this is the first time in 34 years that the March event will not take place. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation. As recently as Wednesday, Austin Public Health stated that 'there’s no evidence that closing SXSW or any other gatherings will make the community safer.' However, this situation evolved rapidly, and we honor and respect the City of Austin’s decision. We are committed to do our part to help protect our staff, attendees, and fellow Austinites." The news comes shortly after Comedy Central and Paramount Network became the latest to pull out of SXSW. As Variety reported last night, SXSW had to wait until the city of Austin made the decision to cancel so it could stand a better chance of collecting insurance.